As is well known in the art, bodily homeostasis is the process through which organs, glands and the central, cranial and peripheral nervous system harmoniously function to balance life equilibrium. The process includes, but is not limited to, glandular participation in the regulation of the body temperature, heart rate, respiration, digestion, energy metabolism, immunity and reproduction.
The glandular flow of chemicals or hormones plays an important role in the homeostasis process. There are two principal classes of secretory glands; the “endocrine” glands that secrete directly into the blood stream, and the “exocrine” glands that secrete into ducts in the body.
Endocrine glands include the pituitary, thyroid, adrenal, parathyroid, ovary, testis and part of the pancreas. The endocrine glands also include the placenta, thymus and pineal gland.
Exocrine glands include the mammary glands that secrete milk and the sweat glands, which help cool the body. The exocrine glands also include the sebaceous glands, which lubricate the surface of the skin with an oily substance and the lachrymal glands, which make tears to cleanse and lubricate the eyes.
Another type of exocrine glands are those that provide digestive chemicals, such as saliva from the salivary glands, bile from the liver, and pancreatic juice from the liver; all of which are involved in the digestion of food.
As is also well known in the art, the brain modulates (or controls) the endocrine and exocrine glands via electrical signals (i.e., action potentials or waveform signals), which are transmitted through the nervous system. The nervous system includes two components: the central nervous system, which comprises the brain, brain stem and the spinal cord, and the peripheral nervous system, which generally comprises groups of nerve cells (i.e., neurons) and peripheral nerves that lie outside the brain and spinal cord. The two systems are anatomically separate, but functionally interconnected.
As indicated, the peripheral nervous system is constructed of nerve cells (or neurons) and glial cells (or glia), which support the neurons. Operative neuron units that carry signals from the brain are referred to as “efferent” nerves. “Afferent” nerves are those that carry sensor or status information to the brain and brain stem.
A typical neuron includes four morphologically defined regions: (i) cell body, (ii) dendrites, (iii) axon and (iv) presynaptic terminals. The cell body (soma) is the metabolic center of the cell. The cell body contains the nucleus, which stores the genes of the cell, and the rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum, which synthesizes the proteins of the cell.
The neuron cell body typically includes two types of outgrowths (or processes); the dendrites and the axon. Most neurons have several dendrites; these branch out in tree-like fashion and serve as the main apparatus for receiving signals from other nerve cells.
The axon is the main conducting unit of the neuron. The axon is capable of conveying electrical signals along distances that range from as short as 0.1 mm to as long as 2 m. Some axons split into several branches, thereby conveying information to different targets.
Near the end of the axon, the axon is divided into fine branches that make contact with other neurons. The point of contact is referred to as a synapse. The cell transmitting a signal is called the presynaptic cell, and the cell receiving the signal is referred to as the postsynaptic cell. Specialized swellings on the axon's branches (i.e., presynaptic terminals) serve as the transmitting site in the presynaptic cell.
Most axons terminate near a postsynaptic neuron's dendrites. However, communication can also occur at the cell body or, less often, at the initial segment or terminal portion of the axon of the postsynaptic cell.
The electrical signals transmitted along the axon to control the endocrine and exocrine glands occur naturally as (i) a burst of neuron activity, i.e., rapid and transient “all-or-none” nerve impulses, or (ii) a continuous pattern of signals followed by a pause, another burst and a final pause of shorter or longer duration, with periods of silence. The amplitude of a signal (or signals) or duration of each pause can be varied to accomplish the required glandular activity.
A “neurosignal” is a composite electrical signal that includes a plurality of nerve impulses (or action potentials) or pattern of signals, and an instruction set for proper gland and organ function. A lachrymal gland (i.e., exocrine gland) neurosignal would thus include an instruction set for commencing secretion of tears to cleanse and lubricate the eyes, the amount and duration of the tears, etc.
Neurosignals or “neuro-electrical coded signals” are thus codes that contain complete sets of information for complete gland and organ function. As set forth in Co-Pending application Ser. No. 11/125,480, filed May 9, 2005, once these neurosignals have been isolated, standardized and transmitted to a subject (or patient), a generated nerve-specific waveform instruction can be employed to regulate the endocrine and exocrine glands and, hence, treat a multitude of disorders associated therewith. The noted disorders include, but are not limited to, abnormal levels of secretion of endogenous insulin, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, Cushing's syndrome, Addison's disease, abnormal levels of testosterone and dry eyes.
Various apparatus, systems and methods have been employed to treat glandular abnormalities. Illustrative is the apparatus and method disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,231,988.
A major drawback associated with the apparatus and method disclosed in the noted patent, as well as most known systems, is that the stimulus signals that are generated and transmitted to a subject are “user determined” and “device determinative” (e.g., implanted electrical stimulator). The noted “stimulus signals” are thus not related to or representative of the signals that are generated in the body and, hence, would not be operative in the direct regulation or modulation of the endocrine or exocrine glands if transmitted thereto.
It would thus be desirable to provide a method and system for regulating the endocrine and exocrine glands that includes means for generating glandular function waveform signals that substantially correspond to the recorded waveform signals (i.e., coded electrical neurosignals) that are generated in the body and are operative in the regulation of the endocrine and/or exocrine glands, and means for transmitting the glandular function waveform signals to the body.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a method and system for regulating the endocrine and exocrine glands that includes means for generating glandular function waveform signals that substantially correspond to coded waveform signals that are generated in the body and are operative in the regulation of the endocrine and exocrine glands.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method and system for regulating the endocrine and exocrine glands that includes means for recording waveform signals that are generated in the body and operative in the regulation of the endocrine and exocrine glands.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method and system for regulating at least one endocrine gland that includes processing means adapted to generate a base-line endocrine gland signal that is representative of at least one coded waveform signal that is generated in the body.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method and system for regulating at least one endocrine gland that includes processing means adapted to compare recorded waveform signals to generated baseline endocrine gland signals and generate an endocrine gland waveform signal as a function of the recorded waveform signal.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method and system for regulating at least one exocrine gland that includes processing means adapted to generate a base-line exocrine gland signal that is representative of at least one coded waveform signal that is generated in the body.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method and system for regulating at least one exocrine gland that includes processing means adapted to compare recorded waveform signals to generated baseline exocrine gland signals and generate a exocrine gland waveform signal as a function of the recorded waveform signal.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method and system for regulating at least one endocrine gland that includes means for transmitting endocrine gland waveform signals to the body that substantially correspond to coded waveform signals that are generated in the body and are operative in the regulation of the endocrine gland.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method and system for regulating at least one exocrine gland that includes means for transmitting exocrine gland waveform signals to the body that substantially correspond to coded waveform signals that are generated in the body and are operative in the regulation of the exocrine gland.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and system for regulating the endocrine and exocrine glands that includes means for transmitting glandular function waveform signals directly to the nervous system in the body that substantially correspond to coded waveform signals that are generated in the body and are operative in the regulation of the endocrine and/or exocrine gland.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and system for regulating the endocrine and exocrine glands that includes means for generating confounding glandular function waveform signals that are adapted to restrict and/or abate secretion of chemicals and/or hormones from endocrine and exocrine glands when transmitted to a subject.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method and system for regulation of the endocrine and exocrine glands that can be readily employed in the treatment of glandular disorders, including, without limitation, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, Cushing's syndrome, Addison's disease, abnormal levels of testosterone and estrogen, and dry eyes.